Requited
by Harri
Summary: Legolas/Aragorn slash. Aragorn tries to fill the lonely nights..
1. A Different Kind Of Lullaby: Aragorn's P...

Does the sun never shine here? Or even the moon?  
  
The darkness is as much a burden as a comfort. In the darkness, we cannot see the evil that lurks behind every tree. We cannot see our nightmares come to life, and we have only the company of each other and the flickering firelight that is our one warmth and source of interest.  
  
In the darkness, we cannot see each other.  
  
He's so beautiful. I can feel the heat from his body, even now. I can feel his eyes burning into me even when I turn away. I pray that it is not the same for him. I cannot help but look at him, all the time. I have never seen anything more precious, more beautiful. I have never wanted anything more than I want him. Thoughts of my beloved Arwen whom I have left behind mingle with thoughts of my beloved Legolas, so near and yet so far.  
  
But he is not mine.  
  
''Aragorn..''  
  
He speaks to me, and my heart feels melted with a strange fire.   
  
''Yes, Elf?'' I do not turn my gaze from the fire. I dare not. My eyes betray too much.  
  
''Aragorn, I am afraid.''  
  
''We are all afraid, Elf. Go to sleep, as Gimli has done. Fear nothing; I am on constant guard for you."  
  
For you. Always for you.  
  
''Sleep will not come to me.'' he says, in his soft voice. "It has not, not since they took Merry and Pippin. In truth, I have scarcely slept since we left Rivendell. I fear every waking moment too greatly to risk my own dreaming.''  
  
I look at him, just for a moment. His eyes shine with tears that he will not let fall. And when he turns to look in my eyes, I struggle for control. How can such an angelic creature be beside me? I wonder. The Elven race is a fair one, but I swear I never saw beauty such as is displayed through him.  
  
''Legolas...please...'' In his eyes I see an almost afraid understanding, an empathy. He knows my thoughts, I realise. They say the elves have great powers and I'll be damned if he does not know exactly what I am thinking right now. Oh, Legolas, read my mind. Read my mind and understand. Just let me love you...  
  
I cannot hold back now. It has gone too far, and before I can stop myself, I am kissing him...just once, a gentle, pleading kiss, and I am praying that he does not hate me for it.   
  
''Aragorn.'' he chokes out, a tear running a glistening river down his cheek. I hold him, my beautiful Elf, my prince, and whisper that I love him. That I have loved him since the first time I set eyes on him, that I have waited for this moment for so long. He says nothing.  
  
All night, he says nothing.  
  
And by the dawn he is no longer in my arms, but dressed again in his green and brown, standing on a rock staring at the sun rise over the mountains. I can still taste and feel him, every moment of the previous night still running through my mind, and I long for him all over again.  
  
And perhaps he feels the same.  
  
And perhaps that is why each night, he lets me do this. Lets me take him.  
  
Sleep now, my prince. You are safe in my arms. 


	2. Changes and Confusion: Legolas' POV

Why does he look at me in this way?  
  
Always, always he looks at me in the same manner. His eyes searching, waiting, hoping. Hoping...but for what?  
  
Hoping for me.  
  
It is different tonight. The long journeys have exhausted him and addled his mortal mind. I suppose he may have already been driven mad by the everyday challenges and battles we must always face.  
  
He is different, tonight. Tonight I think everything may change.  
  
God, I am afraid. Afraid of what the future holds, and afraid of him. Afraid of this strange man, this suffering king.   
  
''Aragorn..'' I must speak. If only to break the silence that is growing all too loud.  
  
''Yes, Elf?'' He does not look at me. I hate and love and fear him for it, and that scares me.  
  
''Aragorn, I am afraid.''  
  
''We are all afraid, Elf. Go to sleep, as Gimli has done. Fear nothing; I am on constant guard for you." He speaks as though he means every word. As though he really would give his life to preserve my immortality. As though he wishes to protect me as he wished to protect Frodo. As though I mean more to him than I know.  
  
I cannot bear keeping my feelings inside. Honour and honesty are paramount to my people; Elves have strong principles.   
  
''Sleep will not come to me.'' I say, slightly trembling..from what? The cold? The fear? The anticipation? I know not. I know nothing. "It has not, not since they took Merry and Pippin. In truth, I have scarcely slept since we left Rivendell. I fear every waking moment too greatly to risk my own dreaming.'' He must know of my fears. I want him to know me, as much as I fear what he may do. I want him...oh, it is folly. What am I thinking? I look at him then, not daring to let myself weep. He looks at me that way, and I yearn to know what he thinks. What he feels.  
  
''Legolas...please...'' His voice breaks with notes of desire and desperation. He wants me. I know it now. Somehow I can see into his thoughts, see every longing moment, every passing thought, every passion.  
  
And then it is upon us, the urgency and longing in our hearts, and he kisses my mouth so gently, as though he thinks I may break like a precious ornament if handled too roughly. And at this moment, perhaps that is the case. His touch makes me weak, his kiss renders me helpless. This is what he intended, I think. This is how he imagined it.  
  
''Aragorn.'' I cannot stop the tears now. I feel the silent tears fall at last, and he holds me, and whispers words that I will not let myself hear. I say nothing at all; I understand nothing. I know now that this is what I feared all along. This is it.  
  
By the time the sun starts its slow ascent over the horizon, I am dressed again. The past night's events run constantly through my mind and I try to drown them in the dawn. I hear Aragorn move from his sleeping place, but I do not look at him to see if it is in waking or dreaming. Confusion clouds my mind and I cry the empty tears that no one must see or hear, before there is time for them to do so.  
  
Each night following brings the same cycle of events, the same unspoken pain and disorientation that I let myself feel only in secret.  
  
But he must never know.  
  
None of them must ever know.  
  
And I silently tell my story to the sunrise, where only the birds can hear it. 


End file.
